Importing From India to Portugal

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Ask a sourcing consultant where to make 200 streetwear pieces and Portugal comes up before India. One did exactly that in 2024, naming Portugal, China and the USA as the best low-MOQ options, and an Indian supplier in the same thread agreed that India has few makers chasing high quality on small runs (r/streetwearstartup, 2024 (opens in a new tab)). So Portugal is India's rival as much as its customer.

It's also a real buyer. This page covers what's Portuguese about importing from India: the VAT, including the island rates, the label, what Portuguese controls have stopped, and the ports. Honest caveat - we have no India-Portugal figures by chapter beyond T-shirts, so we won't pretend to know the full mix.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 24 October 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

Duty is the same across the EU: see the EU bloc page.

1. Buyer and Rival

India shipped US$6.97 million of cotton T-shirts to Portugal in FY2025-26, down 21% on the year (TradeStat EIDB (opens in a new tab), HS 61091000, our query). Portugal's own textile and footwear industry in the north buys Indian yarn and fabric as inputs too.

That raises a question worth asking early. If Indian fabric becomes a Portuguese garment, the garment's origin is decided by the rules of whichever agreement it's later exported under, not by EU import rules. So if you're building that kind of chain, get the origin rule for your end market before you commit. And for small premium runs, India can compete, but you'll need to find the makers who want small orders, which is its own search.

2. VAT, Mainland and Islands

Import VAT (IVA) is charged at 23% on the mainland. The regional governments of the Azores and Madeira may set lower rates for imports cleared there, so a consignment for the islands is priced differently (Código do IVA, article 18 (opens in a new tab)). Check the island rate on the day if you clear there.

The textile label must be in Portuguese. Ask for European Portuguese fibre names, because the Brazilian forms your supplier may already use for other buyers are close but not identical.

3. What Portuguese Controls Stop

Portugal is a quiet file, 11 EU food alerts on Indian goods since 2021 (our count of RASFF Window (opens in a new tab), to 23 September 2026). The most recent is a useful warning, though. In August 2026 Portugal stopped Indian potato chips classed as composite products because they came without the required private attestation (RASFF 2026.7646 (opens in a new tab)). If you import Indian snacks with any animal-derived ingredient, ask your broker which attestation applies before the goods sail.

4. The Ports

Customs is the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (opens in a new tab). Sines, Leixões (Porto) and Lisbon are the container ports. Sines is a deep-water Atlantic port on some Asia-Europe loops, which can make Portugal an early call when services run round the Cape. We found no India service calling Sines direct in the schedules we read, so ask whether yours relays.

Next Step

EU duty and product rules are on the EU bloc page. Every Indian agreement is on India's trade agreements. Finding a maker for small runs starts on Suppliers.